Chapter 35 Compassionate leader
As the middle-aged man watched the yellow-clothed man disappear from his sight, he fell in deep thought, his facing showing his inner conflict. After a while, he sighed defeatedly and walked back into the factory.
After half an hour later, a group of twenty or so people appeared in front of the factory.
In front of the group was a man around a thirty-year-old in sportswear and had a crossbow in his hand. A step behind him was another man. His complexion was dark, and he had a scar on his forehead.
These two were the main camp leader and the right leader, respectively. When they saw there was no one guarding the gate, both of them frowned.
"Why isn't anyone here? Are they busy fucking women?" The main leader asked, his expression darkening.
Seeing this, the scar-faced leader said, "I told you, chief. Derek and the people under him aren't reliable at all."
The main leader narrowed his eyes. He didn't think things were that simple. "Let's go in and check what's the matter." He said before leading everyone in the factory.
…
A few blocks away from the food factory, Luke's group of six was cautiously walking toward the half-constructed block where Luke had killed many high leveled zombies previously.
Although he didn't want to cross this half-construction block because he knew many zombies must have poured out of that broken window and occupied the block but compared to the main route which had at least thousands of zombies, this was still better.
When they were half a mile away from the gate to the half-constructed block, Luke put Julia down on the ground and warned everyone, "Everyone, be cautious and stay right behind me at all times if you don't want to die."
"Yes, sir." The couple replied while the woman hugged the kid tightly. Lori grabbed Julia's hand and tightened her grip on the sword with the other hand.
Julia had her eyes fixed on Luke's back as he clasped his sword tightly and looked around vigilantly with a solemn expression on his face.
The more she looked at him, the more she found him attractive. Every girl loved heroes who can rise to occasion in direst of times and in her eyes, Luke was one such hero. She adored him even more because he had saved her from a fate worse than death.
'He isn't much older than me, right? I wonder what kind of girl he likes.' She thought, a rosy color appearing on her fair cheek contours. Immediately after, she reprimanded herself, 'Have I gone crazy? How can I think of such things right now?'
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Snarl!
Just then, a zombie girl rushed toward them, her speed faster than any normal human. Her target was the couple and the little boy at the end of the group.
"Ahh!" the little boy and his mother shouted out in fear when they saw it. The father's face turned pale in fright, too. But despite his fear, he hurried to stand defensively in front of his wife and son. There was no hesitation in his action.
Upon seeing this, Julia tightened her hold on her mother's hand, her delicate body shivering in fear. She could imagine what would happen to the family of three if this zombie wasn't stopped.
Lori, on the other hand, didn't seem too worried. She knew with Luke here; they were safe even if a few more zombies came, let alone a single.
Whoosh!
Just when Julia was becoming agitated, a figure flashed past them, stopping in front of the family of three.
Her eyes shined when she saw this. She knew he was strong since he could kill all those evolved people in the food factory, however this was going to be her first time watching him in action.
As she looked, Luke unhurriedly raised his sword and slashed it at the incoming zombie when it was in range.
Slash!
She couldn't even see the sword trajectory before half of the zombie's head was sent flying.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Although already dead, the zombie girl continued to run toward him because of the motion.
Bang!
Luke raised his leg and kicked at its abdomen, sending it flying backwards.
[You gain level 5 zombie's soul power.]
'No additional attribute point huh?' He thought. Then, turning around, he asked the trio, "Are you alright?"
"Y-Yes, sir. Thank you for saving us." The man named Rio nodded and thanked him. His wife also followed suit and thanked him before turning her attention to her trembling son.
Luke nodded indifferently before walking toward the zombie's corpse and picked up a red box beside it.
Storing it away in his pouch, he walked to the little boy, sat on one knee in front of him and asked, "What's your name, little guy?"
Rio and his wife exchanged glances. They didn't know what Luke wanted to do, but they didn't interrupt him.
"M-My name is Kean, sir," the little boy answered in a timid voice.
"How old are you, Kean?" Luke asked.
"I'm 10-year-old, sir."
Luke nodded. "You are a big boy now, Kean. So, don't be scared. If you are so scared of them, how are you going to become strong like me and protect your parents in the future?"
Hearing this, Kean's eyes suddenly brightened, and he asked in a slightly excited voice, "I can become strong and cool like you?"
"Of course, you can, but you first have to stop fearing them alright." Luke smiled lightly and patted his head.
"Yes, sir." Kean nodded obediently. By now, he had calmed down.
"Good. Let's go now." Luke said standing up.
"Thank you, sir." Rio and his wife expressed their gratitude. They were very happy and relieved to see the guy they chose to follow wasn't some cold-hearted person, but had some compassion, too.
"Mm." Luke nodded before walking back to the front of the group. "Be alert. We are approaching the zombie infested area."
"Yes, sir," Kean answered in a slightly raised voice and started looking around with a solemn expression on his immature face.
Rio and wife chuckled lightly, shaking their heads.
After a few minutes later, the group arrived at the entrance of the half-constructed area. The several zombie corpses were lying around and were started to produce stench.
Unlike what Luke had expected, he could only see a few zombies walking around on the sector's main road.
This caused him to Lori to raise their brows.
"What is it, mom? Can he take care of these zombies?" Julia asked worriedly when she noticed the change in their expressions.
Rio and his wife also tensed. Furthermore, when the wife and her son Kean saw many dismembered zombie corpses, they had the urge to vomit.
"Don't look." Rio said, covering their eyes.
Lori smiled at Julia and answered, "Of course he can. These few are nothing to worry about. We were just surprised because we had expected more zombies to be here. Since there aren't many, things will be easier."
Hearing this, Julia and others sighed in relief. Although they didn't understand why there should be more zombies, they didn't ask.
"Let's go. Stay near to each other. Lori, Rio, if any stray zombie gets near you, use the weapons in your hands and kill it if you can. Even if you can't, just try to keep it away for a few moments. Most importantly, don't let it bite or scratch you. Understand?" Luke ordered.
"Yes." Rio and Lori nodded, their grip tightening on their weapons.
"Good. Let's go."
Grrr!
They had only walked for less than 100 meters when the first group of five zombies noticed their presence and charged toward them.
Except for Luke, everyone tensed up when they witnessed this scene.
Luke ignored the zombies and glanced back to see his group members' expressions. He couldn't help but nod inwardly when he noticed that none of them were panicking but looking at the incoming zombies vigilantly.
Lori and Rio were standing defensively around the Julia and others. Kean, although afraid and trembling, looked directly at the zombies as he stood behind his mother.
Smiling lightly, Luke turned his gaze back to the zombies. When they were in the 10-meter range, he moved.
Whoosh!
Julia's heart constricted when she saw him move forward. She wanted to say 'be careful' but before she could even utter 'be', Luke flashed through the five zombies and came to a halt behind them, his sword dripping with small droplets of green blood.
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